


Face to Face

by roxy55



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, M/M, Mainly Hamilton/Burr, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Reincarnation AU, coffee addict aaron burr, definitely some coffee shops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-06-05 20:11:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6721618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxy55/pseuds/roxy55
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Overwhelmed in a sudden abundance of strange dreams, Aaron finds himself unable to sleep through a single night without waking from nightmarish dreams. Dragging along daily, it isn't until a stranger comes about that matches the face of the man in his dreams that Aaron has a spark of life in his body. Feelings that don't belong to him and a fate intertwined with the very man he shot in another lifetime, his control seems to be slipping from grasp. (Hiatus until I'm inspired by Hamilton again)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pardon, Sir?

The new pills weren’t doing their job, Aaron couldn’t help but be disappointed to learn that though they could certainly make him tired during the day they failed to get him through a full night of sleep, nor have any antidepressants per prescription from another doctor. He hasn’t had a healthy amount of sleep for a month, but he’s survived and that’s good. He has the doctor’s convinced it’s a terrible case of insomnia and that may be partially true, but it’s the dreams that really keep him waking up every few hours. They’ve consumed his hours of sleep without much mercy and despite quite an amount of repetition in the imagery they still manage to tear him down during his waking hours. 

So, obviously coffee has become an antidote for the time being until a true solution presented itself. Aaron found himself spending a lot of his time at a chosen Starbucks a block away from his apartment, if the immense amount of sugar didn’t do the job then hopefully the caffeine would boost his spirits. They rarely boosted his attitude, however. 

More than ever Aaron found his exhaustion had taken over, for he couldn’t bring himself to lift the cup of coffee to actually take a drink. Instead, he just sat and stared into the cup of black coffee, which he didn’t bother to add anything to. It was important to get the jolt of energy that came with bitter coffee because Aaron felt half dead. 

And then a voice interrupted his daze, “Pardon, I hate to interrupt your… concentration, but do you happen to be Aaron Hopkins?” Slowly looking up to meet gazes with the stranger he didn’t expect to recognize the face before him, and it wasn’t for the right reasons. 

Hesitantly Aaron pushes aside his coffee and responds, “That depends, who’s asking?” That’s not what he intended to say, words seemed to escape that didn’t belong to him but he certainly recognized where they came from. Slowly Aaron was being put into a panic, because looking over this stranger, Alexander, every feature matched the man who has haunted his nightmares for a month if not more. 

“Oh, of course! My name is Alexander Davis, but you can just call me Alex if you’d prefer. I heard your name at Princeton and was told I could find you here, and I was lucky enough to actually find you.” He certainly was one to ramble, it was hard for Aaron to keep up and certainly to not be distracted. “You see, I’m a newly graduated law student and you are not only one of the youngest law graduates, you are also already successful in the workforce-” 

Aaron was quick to intervene, “If you’re asking me to write a recommendation letter, I recommend you look elsewhere. I don’t have the time for that, I’m sorry to say.” He didn’t really want to drive away the kid, maybe Alexander could clear up what’s been happening to him or even have an understanding of the dreams. But he seems unchanged as of now, unlike himself who is still tense at the notion of sitting before a man from his dreams. 

The young man’s stance falters. “Not at all, sir. I was actually wondering if you would be willing to help me win a case. Given that I can’t really defend my own case, I knew you worked for Washington and that’s who I knew I wanted to go to. How do I apply?” It wasn’t what he expected, it wasn’t bad actually. 

This would allow more exposure to Alexander so Aaron could figure out what’s going on with his head while bringing a client in for Washington; this is good. “Oh, that’s all? Of course, here’s Washington’s card and if for whatever reason you can’t reach him that way or if this is rather dire I could bring you to the office.” Taking out a card to hand to Alexander, he tried to give a more welcoming smile so to make up for his attitude before. If this goes well, maybe Aaron will be able to continue on at peace with his dreams, now having the very man in front of him he couldn’t help but be hopeful. Still, it may not be that easy. 

“Thank you so much, and I will tag along with you to the office.” He was certainly a radiant one the man practically gave off energy, or maybe Aaron just lacked in it. 

So Aaron finished his coffee and with a slight boost in energy and after some rather strange conversation with the new client, which supposedly had nothing to do with the case, led him to the office in little time. One moment he was there and the next in Washington’s office while Aaron was feeling distant from the issue that technically doesn’t involve him. He wanted it to, Aaron needed a way to get to know this man and figure out why he was having dreams about this man so often. 

Plopping down at his desk, it didn’t take long for Jefferson to peak up from his cubicle with what looked like curiosity. At first Aaron was determined to simply ignore the man, especially with Alexander still here and Aaron feeling obligated to keep an eye on the client, but this was Jefferson and it was hard to ignore him when he started fiddling with his stuff. 

“And how can I help you, Jefferson?” Only averting his gaze to glance at Jefferson before continuing to open up his computer. 

“Well I noticed you brought in someone, is he a client or is he looking for work? I have a weird feeling about him.” This caught Aaron’s attention, but it took all of his will not to explode with agreement and confessing all he knew. 

Instead he put a smirk on his face and avoided looking at Jefferson, “He’s a client and it’s really not our place to judge a client, and you’re certainly quick to judge. Is there some reason you say that?” Maybe if he just poked at it a little, he could get something out of the man, but when was he ever on the same playing ground as Tom? Despite working for the same company they seemed to fight about each issue brought up and certainly for speaking time in court. Still, they did work together in the long run. 

Aaron didn’t get a response, but a grumble and Jefferson shrinks back to sitting at his desk, which wasn’t helpful at all. And it certainly wasn’t comforting that the next time he looked up from his computer he somehow missed Alex leaving. Frowning, all he can do is approach Washington about it later and see if they are taking on his case. Even if they do, what could he do? This was nothing more than an anomaly and Jefferson was likely just adding spark to a flame that Aaron should not rely on. 

Yet an hour later Madison walks to his desk and nearly slaps what looks to be a letter on his desk, certainly looking frustrated as he sauntered off. Startled Aaron was quick to open the letter, which he was correct to assume was from Washington, it simply said ‘My office, now.’ 

What exactly had he done bringing Alexander in?


	2. I Know Him

Sleep didn’t come easily as Aaron had hoped, just as any other night he was still hesitant to sleep at all and when he did fall asleep he still dreamt of Alexander. The scene took place in a tent in which he was constrained to a table and Alex sat at his side. It was as if he was having an out of body experience, while his body was long since unconscious Aaron could still hear the mumble of frantic passing doctors and observed the waking world. Anything Alexander said was hardly audible, it was instead the way that he gripped to Aaron’s hand like he wasn’t coming back and the occasional kiss pressed to his hand or forehead that spoke words in itself. 

They were both clad in uniform, Aaron’s long since loosened at the neck and most of the buttons undone which must be aiding in his recovery, of what he would never know. With these dreams happening so often Aaron was at least able to connect the dots and know that they were still off fighting as soldiers for America. There was no real hint at the year or time period, but it wasn’t recently as he had seen scenes of taverns not nearly as modernized and homes almost decorated to the Victorian style that no longer graced society. Now however they were in a tent and he could almost remember the scalding heat that surrounded them and could seemingly feel the ground shake from distant firing of artillery.  

Except it was a dream and he was going to wake up eventually, it wasn’t as if the dream made much sense anyways. Aaron didn’t want to keep track of all these dreams, he’s already become too attached and it’s began to affect his waking hours. Now that the man who haunted his dreams was walking the waking world Aaron found it more important than ever to push the dreams aside and ignore them to his best ability. 

It was one when Aaron decided to stir from his restless state and instead just settle with waiting until it was time to go rather than trying to go back to sleep, he’d just have another one of those dreams and that wasn’t what he wanted. Not when he had a meeting with Alex in a few hours, having those dreams swarm his head with the main verdict sitting across from him would just be an invasive distraction. According to Washington, it was already troubling that he had brought Alexander in considering his case isn’t really a defendable one. Even though Aaron thinks otherwise, he still finds himself wondering if he would still be manning this case if he hadn’t brought him in. Maybe he’d see the man coming in for Washington on occasion, but concentrating on what ifs were not going to solve his problem. There shouldn’t be a problem in the first place. 

With a grunt Aaron forced himself to take a step back from his train of thought and instead concentrate on staying awake. Walking to his kitchen, in a slump he forced himself to brew a pot of coffee knowing the smell alone would be enough to wake him up. And he wasn’t wrong as his waiting was worth it when the strong scent spread through the kitchen, Aaron couldn’t help his sleepy smile. 

Turning on the television wasn’t necessary but helpful as background noise so to hopefully keep him awake. He had to cautiously place his cup on a table far enough away so that if by some chance he were to fall asleep there wouldn’t be the possibility of him knocking it over while dozing off. Aaron moved now to grab his iPad with the intentions of looking up a little about his new client, after all there must be something already out there with a man in the hospital being the result. It still baffled him that Alexander was the same man who approached him in that bar, yet seemingly almost beat a man to critical condition. Washington liked to argue that they weren’t one to take the criminals side, and it could have gotten them off the case if they stuck to it except Alexander proved to be persuasive in saying that he wasn’t the criminal. It was a domestic violence case with a twist, that’s for sure. 

Apparently the wife, Maria, was siding with Alexander in this case so he could expect to see her soon enough with Alexander being their new client. Really Aaron would have done the same to a certain extent, he didn’t like the idea of a woman being treated wrongly or really anyone getting the short end of the stick, it was one of the reasons he was a lawyer after all. 

Alex technically had good intentions when he went in to protect Maria from her husband, but now James is conscious and raising hell through his lawyer. That lawyer was lucky cause this could easily turn against them, sure Alex was protecting the woman but he could be charged with assault, trespassing, and god knows what else and it could be completely out of his hands. He wanted to help Alex, it was just hard to guarantee success when he sees comments on how destroyed James was in the hospital from his attack. Why didn’t he stop when he was disabled? If he could sit Alexander down that was a question he would definitely ask. 

For likely another half hour Aaron sat and read through articles and documents until his eyes weren’t following and his shoulders were slumping back against his couch. Exhaustion easily took his muscles and soon it would influence his ability to stay conscious. He’d barely touched his coffee. 

And it wasn’t long before he had lost the world around him to a dream. 

Alexander stood in front of him, this scene seemed familiar, and a small crowd of four occupied the grounds not much farther along. Looking down his hands were shaking and it was hard to determine the reason why his entire being was quaking in the presence of Alexander. They are standing on a small field at least a hundred paces away from each other, and it is when Alex comes to approach him that Aaron becomes aware of the gun in his hand. 

No. No not this, anything but this. 

“Aaron I give you one more chance, I ask for peace so that we may continue on without quarrel. Forget this petty fight and let us move on.” Yes, god yes that is what he wants. He recognizes this scene without a struggle and he doesn’t want to see this man dead at his hand again. 

His forgiveness was not spoken but instead a stubborn response. “You have ruined my political career, made me appear as a fool in front of a nation. That is something I cannot and will not forgive, Alexander.” Alexander tenses at those words, the gun shifts in his hand, and the air seems to become cooler. 

“So be it.” 

Aaron wakes as he sees Alexander’s back. His entire being tremors and shakes at what was unfolding before him and it was harder than it should be to remind himself that it was just a dream. Alexander’s blood is not on his hands, it was nothing more than a dream. 

Shallow breaths are all that he hears for the first minute he is awake, his vision is too blurred to noticed that the television is on in the background. It wasn’t loud enough to disturb his already shaken state. Rubbing at his eyes Aaron stumbles from the couch and forces himself to look for a clock, the oven clock reading five thirty. Good, he wasn’t late yet. 

This was getting to the point where it was ridiculous, he couldn’t get an hour of peaceful sleep and would have to down five to six pills a day with the hopes that this thing would subside and that his thoughts wouldn’t be clouded over during the day. Knowing that he would have to face the real Alexander in a few hours wasn’t helping in the slightest. 

His morning routine included a little more stumbling around and upset than usual, but with time Aaron was showered, dressed, and filled up with coffee. Now his goal was to get to work and not have to take a nap during his hours. If anything that’s what lunch is for. It was hard to force himself out the door but he did and work was just a few blocks away, not far enough away to take a taxi but far enough to remind Aaron just how unrested he felt. He didn’t want to think about how Jefferson might bug him when he got to the office or how rigorous working with Alexander and George might be. Either way he was going to have to tough it out, there wasn’t any getting out of this.  
There wasn’t a moment to breathe the moment Aaron stepped through the doors of the office, Alexander was already sitting in wait and it was the way Alex lightened up when he entered that certainly looked to destroyed him. It was best not to think too hard about it. 

“Aaron, sir, I know it’s early but I was hoping to catch you. I was doing some research last night-” 

“It is early, give me a second to settle. Washington will be here pretty soon, so given your early arrival we can always get you in early with him. I will be just a minute.” Aaron does his best not to look at Alexander as he moves to his desk, not everyone is here yet but he does see a few heads. It’s early, too early for this. 

So he sits with Alexander and hears him out until Washington arrives, finding it hard not to get lost in what he has seen in his dreams and just how similar Alex really is to that man is his dreams. Down to the name for crying out loud, this shouldn’t be okay. But still, Aaron listens, comments on what catches his attention, and can’t help but be fascinated and persuaded just from what he presented then. He wanted to defend Alex and his case, it was a matter of how the court would see him. If Alex were to sit with them and defend the case himself it wouldn’t be too hard of a win, but he was the client and he was paying to be the defendant. 

When Washington did enter they moved to his office and what could be deemed as an official meeting took place. Alexander did restate most of what he said, once in awhile he would hear his intake in the explanation, and just as he had Washington gave his input. However, he seemed interested in what Alex had to say and it really couldn’t be helped when they knew the man was a young lawyer. 

There was less of a quarrel about supporting Alexander and more so constructing a case and gathering their defense for the court date. They would be able to win this, and with another set of hands on the case they couldn’t be in a better position. For awhile all that could be heard was the sound of flipping papers and the presence of the men sitting in the office, deep in concentration. And with another spontaneous argument coming up, it was easy to let time pass before they had found it to be their lunch break. 

“We can meet back up after lunch, though so far I’m not too worried about this case. We can discuss arrangements of our witness when we come back.” Washington lead them out of his office and waved them off. Now for a much needed break. 

The thought didn’t last long, however. He was stopped by Alexander. “Hey Aaron, wait up. I wanted to take you out to lunch, as a thanks.” Aaron pauses, he did pack a lunch which could prove to be an excuse but really he was just going to take a nap if he stayed here. 

“We haven’t won the case yet,” Turning to look at Alexander for the first time really since this morning Aaron couldn’t find any real reason to say no besides his own issues. It could just be a nice lunch if he allowed it to be, and likely if he was right about Alex he would push for it to happen eventually. “Sure, I’ll take you up on that offer.” 

Grabbing what he needed from his desk they left together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took much longer than I intended or wanted, I had some trouble with this and back when I posted the first chapter I had knee surgery so I was a little drugged up and healing for awhile! Fun stuff, but I'm hoping to get back on this with a somewhat steadier update schedule! (One a week would be nice, but things happen) Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Hamilton fic so this could be rough but please any comments/criticism to help me I welcome! Thanks for reading~


End file.
